The week's best concerts: May 25-31

Though rock ’n’ roll queen Alison Mosshart relocated from Florida to London to form the Kills with her musical partner, Jamie Hince, her Southern roots shine brightly on the band’s bluesy, grungy albums. Formed in 2000, the Kills won critical acclaim with their 2003 debut, Keep on Your Mean Side, and 2005’s No Wow, inviting comparisons to the White Stripes. That might have something to with Mosshart’s friendship with Jack White, with whom she would form Nashville-based band the Dead Weather in 2009. The Kills are currently prepping for the June 3 release of their fifth LP, Ash & Ice. Its two singles thus far — “Doing It to Death” and “Heart of a Dog” — show no diversion from Mosshart and Hince’s original punk-infused twang. And unlike the Stripes, this duo appears inseparable. 18+. $30. 7:30 p.m. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8388. — GRACE BIRNSTENGEL

Ozzy Osbourne as Memphis soul man? Hardly. On his cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” genuine soul phenomenon Charles Brad-ley douses the song with emotional lighter fluid spiked with memories of his recently departed mother. Changes is also the name of Bradley’s latest album for Daptone. The R&B-centric label’s discovery of the James Brown acolyte/impersonator launched a recording career in his 60s, after enduring what he calls “the hard licks of life.” “Changes” aside, Bradley’s third album is packed with originals that sound like nuggets from the heyday of classic soul. Yet the gritty, immediate songs are flush with contemporary touches, like the sleek horns and Gospel Queens vocals stroking “Change for the World.” Bradley is in fine form, from his slippery testifying and call-and-response flirtations on the ballad “Things We Do for Love” to his raucous shouts on the wildly funky “Ain’t It a Sin.” All the while, he puts on a ferociously incendiary clinic of Brown grunts and howls. 18+. $20. 8 p.m. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8388. —RICK MASON

An integral part of the Laurel Canyon music scene of the late ’60s/early ’70s, John David Souther helped define the country-rock sound of the era. He’s perhaps best known for the songs he wrote or co-wrote for the Eagles (“New Kid in Town,” “The Sad Café”), Linda Ronstadt (“Don’t Cry Now,” “Faithless Love”), and dozens of others, each capturing the dusty, noirish melancholy of the genre. It’s a body of work that landed him in the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside writers with more fame but no more talent. Also a little neglected is Souther’s own impressive string of solo albums, which took a quarter-century break before resuming with 2008’s If the World Was You. His high baritone still glows, his phrasing is impeccable, his storytelling skills are remarkably acute. Subsequent releases through last year’s Tenderness include savvy infusions of jazz and subtle invocations of the Great American Songbook. $45-$52. 7 p.m. 1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-332-5299. —RICK MASON

KWEKU COLLINS AND WHY KHALIQ

AMSTERDAM BAR & HALL, FRIDAY 5.27

Kweku Collins and Why Khaliq are both having the best years of their young careers, jolting their respective hip-hop scenes with new energy. Oddly, they’ve done so with music that isn’t particularly loud or blustery. On his new album, Nat Love, Evanston, Illi-nois’ Collins emerges as one of the Chicago area’s freshest originals. His combo of thoughtful verses, melodic intuition, and warm/self-produced beats is reminiscent of Chance the Rapper (although limiting either to the confines of “rapper” is a creative dis-service). Meanwhile, St. Paul’s Khaliq is one of the brightest hopes for Twin Cities hip-hop, period. His Under the Perspective Tree EP from this year is full of depth, especially for a sub-20-minute release. That’s partly due to Khaliq’s whip-smart yet swaggering lyricism, Lelan Foley’s jazz- and soul-influenced production, and cinematic interludes. Khaliq’s WhyWednesdays new-release series is also gaining him traction locally and beyond. With Boathouse, Lucien Parker, and Dannylions. 18+. $8-$10. 9 p.m. 6 Sixth St. W., St. Paul; 612-285-3112. —MICHAEL MADDEN

It’s hard to think of a place where you can catch back-to-back days of great local bands and bowl a perfect game at the same time. But if you’ve got a hankering for that weirdly specific combination of activities, look no further than the Memory Lanes Block Party. Blistering hip-hop trio Mixed Blood Majority headline the outdoor stage on Day 1. After scoring a spot in First Avenue’s Best New Bands 2015 lineup, rousing prog-soul/rap fusionist Eric Mayson will also light it up outside, followed by indoor performances from electro-poppers Tiny Deaths, alt-rap kids Beasthead, and Dead Disco. Bones & Beeker, Little Fevers, B.O.Y.F., Cherry Cola, What Tyrants, and Murder Shoes will all rock the outdoor stage. Longtime Kentucky rockabilly shit-starters the Legendary Shack Shakers headline Day 2, following performances from fellow Kentuckian Jessica Lee Wilkes, indie-rockers Fury Things, and blues-punk out-fit Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders. The Toxenes, and Jaedyn James & the Hunger also perform outside, with Davina and the Vagabonds and Hipshaker DJ Brian Engel shutting things down inside the alley. $5. 3 p.m.-midnight. 2520 26th Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-721-6211. —JARED HEMMING

This doubleheader sports a pair of bands doing idiosyncratic things with Americana roots. Lord Huron sprang from the fervent imagination of Bob Schneider, a Michigan native now living in L.A. A trip home spawned some songs inspired by the wonders of nature, which evolved into a full band and a pair of albums. The latest, 2015’s Strange Trails, has an amiable folk-rock sound, a sinewy undercurrent, vestiges of imaginary Westerns, and a harrowing, cinematic narrative that suggests an obsession with The X-Files and zombies. Although often set in bucolic locales, the songs are riddled with ghosts, curses, threats, and violence. They’re scary, Quentin Tarantino-esque campfire tales sometimes oddly juxtaposed with the jaunty music. Nathaniel Rateliff toiled on the folkie wing of Americana before recasting himself as a gospel-soaked soul man extraordinaire last year. His band’s raw, horn-driven stew of classic R&B streaked with honky-tonk is epitomized by gloriously infectious breakout single, “S.O.B.” Rateliff & Co. will play Rock the Garden in June. $35. 7:30 p.m. 84 Church St. SE, Minneapolis; 612-624-2345. —RICK MASON